Health and Ambulance Services Minister Cameron Dick has today written to Federal Assistant Minister for Health Dr David Gillespie urging him to deliver Commonwealth supported medical school places to ensure the Sunshine Coast University Hospital medical school's future and its ability to train the Sunshine Coast doctors of tomorrow.
Copies of the letter have also been sent to Federal Minister for Health and Sport, Greg Hunt and Federal Minister for Education and Training, Senator Simon Birmingham.
“On Friday, I met with Dr Gillespie in Adelaide and he confirmed to me that the Turnbull Government would not be allocating any additional Commonwealth Supported Places for the study of medicine across Australia,” the Minister said.
"This will result in only full fee-paying international students making up the additional 15 student places that are required to ensure the Sunshine Coast medical school has a full complement of 50 students.
"A total of 50 students are required to make the medical school viable for a university provider.
"This is an unacceptable and short-sighted outcome for the Sunshine Coast and our state.
"It will also jeopardise the ability to train and attract the medical workforce the growing region needs for the future.
“I urge Dr Gillespie to reverse his decision and instead deliver the Commonwealth Supported Places the Sunshine Coast needs.
“The Sunshine Coast community deserves a quality medical school to match the world-class hospital that has been established by the Queensland Government, so I have today formally written to Dr Gillespie to again urge him to reconsider and reverse this decision.
“To demonstrate the Palaszczuk Government’s commitment to the Medical School and as a gesture of cooperation between our governments, I have renewed my offer to fund 50 per cent of the 15 required Commonwealth supported places for the first four years of the medical school to ensure the school is viable.
“However, I have advised Dr Gillespie that I will not provide funding for those 15 places if they only remain as places for full fee-paying international students.
“Unless these Commonwealth Supported Places are forthcoming, I understand that the only way a university provider can make the medical school viable is to recruit overseas medical students at the expense of local students.
“That would be yet another kick in the guts to the Sunshine Coast community who have been badly let down by the Turnbull Government and their ineffective local Federal MPs Andrew Wallace and Ted O'Brien."
Source Queensland Government